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Both Crosses Lyrics
She said sometimes she sees these things
Right before they're happening
Hail Mary, full of grace
Some nights she swears she feels her face
She's been with a couple boys who died
And two of them were crucified
And the last one had enlightened eyes
But the first guy, he was Jesus Christ
Hey Judas, I know you've made a grave mistake
Hey Peter, you've been pretty sweet since Easter break
Now she's four A.M. and she's wide awake
She's shiverin' and smilin'
Let's clutch and kiss and sing and shake
Tonight, let's try to levitate
You Catholic girls, you start much too late
Baby, let's transverberate
Baby, let's transverberate
Baby, let's transverberate
But she saw the footage right before it got cut
And she saw the bodies and she saw the blood
She saw the angel put a sword in his side
And baby, that's how we got canonized
She saw him gushing blood right before it got cut
She saw him put a body in a bag in the trunk
She saw the guys coming in from the sides
And baby, that's how we get energized
She said, "You know I'm down to pay for it"
She said, "Just grant me some indulgences
Cause I've been mostly dying
And I've been mostly coughing
And I've been mostly crying
And I've been thinking 'bout both crosses"
She saw the film right before it came out
And at first she thought Judas might go for the mouth
And she saw the nails and she saw the hands
She saw the crown, she heard the band
And the new kid begged him not to do it
And Jesus just said, "Hey, I still love you Judas"
Since you've been up in Massachusetts
I've been dreaming 'bout dos cruces
And I've been thinking 'bout both crosses
And I've been dreaming 'bout dos cruces
Yeah I've been thinking 'about both crosses
Right before they're happening
Hail Mary, full of grace
Some nights she swears she feels her face
She's been with a couple boys who died
And two of them were crucified
And the last one had enlightened eyes
But the first guy, he was Jesus Christ
Hey Judas, I know you've made a grave mistake
Hey Peter, you've been pretty sweet since Easter break
She's shiverin' and smilin'
Let's clutch and kiss and sing and shake
Tonight, let's try to levitate
You Catholic girls, you start much too late
Baby, let's transverberate
Baby, let's transverberate
Baby, let's transverberate
And she saw the bodies and she saw the blood
She saw the angel put a sword in his side
And baby, that's how we got canonized
She saw him gushing blood right before it got cut
She saw him put a body in a bag in the trunk
She saw the guys coming in from the sides
And baby, that's how we get energized
She said, "Just grant me some indulgences
Cause I've been mostly dying
And I've been mostly coughing
And I've been mostly crying
And I've been thinking 'bout both crosses"
And at first she thought Judas might go for the mouth
And she saw the nails and she saw the hands
She saw the crown, she heard the band
And the new kid begged him not to do it
And Jesus just said, "Hey, I still love you Judas"
Since you've been up in Massachusetts
I've been dreaming 'bout dos cruces
And I've been thinking 'bout both crosses
And I've been dreaming 'bout dos cruces
Yeah I've been thinking 'about both crosses
Song Info
Submitted by
charlatansin On May 29, 2008
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I don't think that the girl is Holly - it's Sapphire, the psychic girlfriend from "Chips Ahoy". Back in happier times, she used to tell Charlemagne which horse was gonna finish in first, but now she's seeing visions of his murder.
He gets stabbed anyway, but the tip-off might have saved him - in "Yeah Sapphire" he tells her that "it all went down exactly like your visions" and that "I'm not drunk, I'm cut / I'm gushing blood /And I need someone to come and pick me up."
Throughout the rest of the album we hear inconsistent accounts of one murder, or two murders -- so while some townie definitely gets killed, we don't know if it's Charlemagne or not.
The album also has a few hints that it's Holly who is the "Judas" who tells the bad guys where Charlemagne is hiding out -- she previously told people she was up in Massachusetts. She's definitely the strung out girl in "Lord I'm Discouraged" - there's your relapse.
Possibly my favorite Hold Steady song yet. Amazing.
It's a great song but what is it about?
There's some obvious references to viewing "The Passion," and filling the girl with Catholic guilt, yet in spite of that she continues to deal with shady people.
I'm almost 100% certain this is Holly in the midst of a relapse.
I agree that this is probably 'bout Holly. Heck, aside from the fact that Finn's really singing here, this sounds like it could be a song from Seperation Sunday, right down to the fact that it doesn't have a chorus. I mean, granted, most HS songs with choruses are great, but I've always kind of had a soft spot for the old-style ones.
On a completely unrelated note, "transverberate" is apparently a real word. It means to pierce, which I assume is supposed to go with the line about the sword in Jesus' side.
Also, theremins are love.
The tranverberate thing is weird. It's listed in the dictionary as "To beat or strike through", but it has a second meaning in Catholicism involving an ecstatic experience, related to a "dart of love" piercing the heart and inflaming within it an intense love of God. Source:http://maryschild.blogspot.com/2005/08/feast-of-transverberation-of-st-teresa.html
transverberate is him talking about sex. Between it meaning "to stab" and "ecstasy," he's playing with words, as Craig often does.